Soldier Ant
Soldier Ant is a robot which competed in the Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars, as part of the 2017 series. It was designed by documentary host Neil Oliver, who was mentored by Team Shock’s Will Thomas throughout the competition process. The name Soldier Ant is derived from the insect of the same name, as some ants are capable of delivering fatal bites, even to humans. Robot History Soldier Ant competed in Episode 2. Its first Head-to-Head battle saw it fighting Jordan Stephens’ thwackbot, Dee. It shuffled back and forth as Dee slammed into its wedge, before driving across the arena and attempting to direct its crusher towards Dee. The two robots met in the middle of the arena, with Soldier Ant eventually grabbing Dee by the chassis and momentarily pushing and dragging it. Soldier Ant released its crusher, where Dee backed away and got itself caught on the arena spikes. Dee escaped, slamming into Soldier Ant a few more times before Soldier Ant gave chase and eventually grabbed Dee again, briefly getting its crusher through a hole in Dee’s top panel. After more dodging, Soldier Ant charged into Dee once more, catching it by the wheel and leaving it positioned on its side as it punctured one of Dee’s tyres. Soldier Ant grabbed Dee again in an attempt to crush through the top panel, but struggled to pin Dee against the wall as the latter spun around, dodged its charges and whacked its side. Soldier Ant nudged Dee one more time and chased it inside an empty CPZ, before ‘cease’ was called, and the battle went to the judges. The decision went unanimously in favour of Soldier Ant, giving it two points and provisional second in the league table standings. It was revealed after the battle that the robot had sustained a few holes in its armour, inflicted by Dee’s spikes. Next, Soldier Ant faced Robbie Savage’s Robo Savage. It initially backed away before charging straight into Robo Savage, pushing it close to the Flame Pit and a CPZ. Soldier Ant dodged a flip from Robo Savage before crushing through the space between Robo Savage’s flipper and top left-hand panel a few times and steering it into the wall. It then pierced through the rear of Robo Savage, briefly lifting it in the process, before dragging, spinning and pushing it over the pit square. Soldier Ant opened its crusher, allowing Robo Savage to drive away and ram into it. The two robots continued dodging each other until Robo Savage got underneath Soldier Ant, lifted it and toppled it over onto the Flame Pit. Unable to self-right, Soldier Ant was counted out and flipped upright by Matilda, who proceeded to push and throw it against the wall. Soldier Ant retaliated by grabbing Matilda’s tusks as she dragged it back across the arena, before dropping it into the pit, with Soldier Ant balancing on its rear panel after being pitted. Having scored no more points in the previous battle, Soldier Ant’s last Head-to-Head against Kadeena Cox and Kadeena Machina was its final chance to secure enough points for a place in the Grand Final. The battle started tentatively, with Soldier Ant turning round to dodge Kadeena Machina’s disc. It attempted to grab Kadeena Machina several times, pushing it towards the wall before being hit by Kadeena Machina. Soldier Ant continued attacking, eventually pushing Kadeena Machina side-on before receiving a few more blows as it tried to grab the latter again. In doing so, Kadeena Machina shredded one of Soldier Ant’s tyres, severely hampering its manoeuvrability and leaving it unable to drive in a straight line. Soldier Ant sustained more damage from Kadeena Machina, becoming fully immobilised and having the end of its crusher and parts of its side torn apart as it was counted out. As the teams high-fived and congratulated each other, Sir Killalot picked Soldier Ant up and dumped it out of the arena, with hydraulic fluid leaking from Soldier Ant as it was dropped over the wall. Following this loss, Soldier Ant did not score enough points to secure a place in the Grand Final, finishing joint third in the Head-to-Head round with Dee. Results Wins/Losses *Wins: 1 *Losses: 2 Category:Competitors Category:UK Robot Wars Competitors Category:Heavyweight Robots Category:British Robots Category:Robots from Scotland Category:Robots with Vertical Crushers Category:Robot Wars Celebrity special Competitors Category:Robots with more losses than wins Category:Robots Thrown out of the Arena Category:Robot Wars 2017 competitors Category:Loaner Robots